Effects of Low-temperature Storage on the Eggs of Spodoptera littoralis (Boisd.)

Abstract

IN September 1963 a number of growers reported severe damage to the flowers and foliage of all-year-round chrysanthemums by a new caterpillar which, when more than half-grown, was apparently resistant to DDT. The larvæ were later determined as Spodoptera littoralis (Boisd.) (Prodenia litura F.) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), an important pest of cotton and many other crops in African and Mediterranean countries. Experiments showed that dichlorvos at 24 c.c. of 50 per cent emulsifiable concentrate per gallon per 600 sq. ft. of bed could kill larvæ up to the third instar. The older larvae were susceptible to 0.04 per cent dieldrin as a stomach poison. The pest was afterwards eliminated from the nurseries on which it had appeared by the combined use of these two materials.